Lea was jolted awake by the scream that rang throughout the manor. She opened her eyes and used her emotion radar to scout out what went wrong...

  Most of the people in the manor had woken up early, but except for one person clearly in distress, the others didn't mind at all. The signal came from Dawn's room.

  But despite that, she rushed out of the room and ran all the way over to the princess' room. Since she hasn't been using her powers tely, she was quite surprised at how fast she was, as if she had gained a speed boost when in the shadows.

  No, that was likely it.

  The passive power of Malediction is darkness enhancement; all of her physical, mental, and spiritual strength became enhanced as long as there is no light.

  She burst into Dawn's room, her yellow eyes glowing.

  "Princess, what happened?!"

  Dawn, startled by her, looked up from observing the contraption on the table... Lea was immediately confused.

  "Lea, I'm focusing here!!", she screamed in frustration, "This damn thing just doesn't make sense at all!! Why does this thing have to be here, then this!! What even is this?!"

  She held up a square piece from the device Lady Keter gave her. It looks ordinary, but Lea cannot comprehend what this is...

  There was a manic look in her amber eyes, "Using Mimicry to mimic Creation, I got some understanding of this... an entire library can be stored in this thing! Ahahaha... this is... I am so close to understanding it... Yet it's just out of reach...!!"

  Lea understood the implication... a device with that much storage information, that small... can change the entirety of society.

  "What was the task Lady Keter gave you?", she inquired, carefully stepping closer.

  "She said to recreate this— but I don't think it is possible, every component, even the titanium alloy frame itself, is precise down to the percentage! Some of the finer components can't even be recreated with the current technology!! Can you believe it?!"

  Lea was quite startled by her outburst of enthusiasm and frustration. But she kept on getting closer to look at the contraption.

  It was indeed complicated, too complicated for this world... it is impossible to recreate this kind of technology...

  Yet Lea felt something was wrong with the ritual itself. The core belief of the Chalk Princess is enlightenment and progression.

  Carefully, she stepped closer, her voice calm and careful, "Princess... what exactly did Lady Keter tell you to do with this?"

  Dawn took a deep breath, her hands still shaking as she set the component down, "She said, 'It carries the essence of connectivity, of instant communication, of knowledge distilled into touch and gss.' She said I had to... understand the essence, not just rebuild it."

  Lea's eyes narrowed thoughtfully, piecing it together. The ritual, she realized, was not about reconstructing the device itself. That was a literal interpretation, a distraction. The core of the Chalk Princess's Fifth Step was in understanding the purpose.

  She leaned closer to the table, gently touching Dawn's trembling hands, "Princess... It's not the device itself that matters. Lady Keter wants you to recreate the communication aspect. Innovate beyond the telegraph key. Something that doesn't just send coded messages, but voices... information flowing instantly, distilled into touch and gss. That is the true Fifth Step."

  Dawn's wild expression softened, the frantic energy in her eyes melting into wonder.

  "You... you understand?", she whispered, almost in disbelief.

  Lea smiled faintly, "I think I do. That's why you were so frustrated, you were trying to copy the device instead of capturing its essence."

  "Huh... I guess I know why the Divine Throne came to you.", Dawn's tone was calm, yet unable to mask her excitement, "Lea, you are a goddamn genius!!!"

  She suddenly jumped up and hugged Lea, startling the poor woman. But she returned the hug, feeling the warmth of another person... she realized she really needed a hug.

  "Once I become a god, I'll make you my Blessed.", Dawn whispered lightly.

  "Hey now... I am also trying to become a god too...", Lea chuckled, letting go of the princess.

  Dawn stepped back slightly, still holding onto a piece of the device, her amber eyes bright with a mixture of excitement and exasperation.

  "Can you believe how she expined it?", Dawn compined, throwing her hands up, "'Knowledge distilled into touch and gss', what even is that? Touch and gss? Is she talking about some kind of magic mirror or a library in a bottle?!"

  Lea chuckled softly, shaking her head, "It's how Lady Keter operates... maddeningly vague. She doesn't tell you what to do, she makes you figure it out... or burn yourself out trying."

  She had her fare share of Lady Keter's antics.

  Dawn flopped dramatically onto the edge of the table, letting out a frustrated groan. "I spent hours trying to understand it! I thought I had to rebuild every microscopic component perfectly! And she just... drops riddles like breadcrumbs and expects us to find the loaf!"

  Lea leaned against the desk, smirking, "And the worst part? Even when you do figure it out, there's that little satisfaction that it was your brain, not her guidance. Lady Keter doesn't want you to succeed; she wants you to earn it..."

  Dawn shook her head, ughing despite herself, "I swear, sometimes I think she just enjoys watching us squirm."

  "You're not wrong...", Lea said, a faint smile tugging at her lips, "Every meeting, every ritual... It's like she's pying some cosmic game of chess while we're still learning how to hold the pieces."

  And that is true, Lea could feel so.

  Dawn stood, pacing excitedly, "You know... It's infuriating. But also... brilliant. I mean, I get it now. We have to innovate, not just copy. We're meant to take the essence and make it our own!"

  Lea nodded, her yellow eyes glinting, "Exactly. We're not just following instructions; we're meant to push the boundaries of what's possible. Even if she makes it sound like a headache first..."

  I mean... my Fourth Step ritual is making 11,000 people fall asleep, I think I can make do with talismans... but how to get to that many people... Lea thought, feeling a bit frustrated too.

  Dawn ughed, tossing the component back onto the table carefully, "I'm still going to compin about it, though. Seriously, why can't she just say, 'Hey, recreate communication, here's the principle, go!'?"

  Lea grinned, "Because then it wouldn't be Lady Keter, would it?"

  The two of them shared a long ugh, the tension of the morning finally melting away. And even as they chuckled, there was a quiet spark of resolve in both their eyes, ready to take the cryptic instructions and transform them into something revolutionary.

  =0=0=

  After a quiet breakfast, the sun hanging low in the morning sky, Auger stepped into the yard, his presence calm but commanding.

  "Today's lesson is swordsmanship.", he calmly stated, looking over at the weapon racket readied.

  "I can't use Hastur?", Lea asked, already looking at the dull bdes readied for her choosing.

  "No, you need refinement before even thinking of wielding that weapon properly.", he chuckled, "Pick your weapon."

  Lea's eyes scanned the rack carefully, finally settling on a slender rapier. Its polished steel glinted faintly in the morning light, and she traced her fingers along the hilt, feeling its bance.

  "A rapier, then," she said, lifting it deliberately. "Light, precise, elegant."

  Auger nodded approvingly, folding his arms. "Good choice. The rapier isn't about brute force. It's about finesse, timing, and control. Speed alone won't win a fight. You'll need to think ahead, anticipate, and make every movement count."

  Lea adjusted her stance, mimicking what she remembered from the tales of Dantès, the Count of Monte Cristo.

  Her left foot forward, right hand firm on the hilt, the bde angled just so. She could almost see herself in a duel, the air thick with tension, each step calcuted.

  She performed some light swings, testing her stance and technique. Each attack bears the intent to wound, to kill, strengthened by the dark fme inside her soul.

  Auger walked slowly around her, his gaze sharp, "Posture is decent, but your thrusts are too wide. A rapier thrives on precision. Let your movements be a conversation, not a flurry of aggression."

  Lea nodded, inhaling slowly, letting her body rex into the stance. She began practicing slow thrusts, parries, and feints, imagining an opponent moving in rhythm with her strikes.

  Each motion became deliberate, her amber eyes tracking an invisible foe, each thrust a question, and each parry a response.

  "Better.", Auger nodded, "But remember, the rapier isn't just about attacking. Defense is just as important. Control the distance, force your opponent to react, and then exploit the opening. The mind guides the bde, never the other way around."

  Lea adjusted again, focusing on the flow of the sparring dance, feeling her instincts merge with the precision of the rapier.

  The air in the yard seemed to hum as she moved, each step measured, each strike calcuted.

  "Now," Auger said, stopping in front of her, "let's see if you can keep that focus when I push back."

  Lea's eyes narrowed with determination, tightening her grip on the hilt.

  The morning light caught the rapier's edge, and for a moment, she felt the thrill of true dueling... the dance of steel and wits about to begin.

  Auger did not use his cane, but instead he picked up a longsword. He swung it around, testing it. In an instant, Lea could see and feel how good he was with bded weapons, a seasoned warrior and hero of a nation.

  Lea tensed as Auger advanced, his longsword gleaming in the morning sun. The first few strikes came fast and precise, a sweeping arc of polished steel aimed to test her reflexes.

  She barely managed to parry, feeling the rapier vibrate under the force.

  Each thrust from him was measured, each feint perfectly timed, every strike a lesson in the art of combat.

  She gritted her teeth, her yellow eyes bzing. Clearly, she was outcssed.

  Auger moved like water around her, never wasting a motion, his stance fwless, his strikes controlled yet devastating.

  Every attempt to press forward was met with a deflection or a counter, forcing her back step by step.

  "Focus! Not like that!!", Auger called, a hint of exasperation in his calm tone, "Precision, timing, and understanding! You can't brute-force finesse!!"

  Lea's lips curled into a pyful smirk, "Finesse won't save me here. I'll have to py my way."

  She felt the dark energy of her powers surge within her, Judgement fring at her fingertips, Malediction coursing through her veins.

  Her rapier's edge shimmered faintly with dark golden light, the air around it warping as if reality itself recoiled.

  With a flick of her wrist, a strike imbued with destructive power shed toward Auger.

  "Using your Pathstrider abilities to cheat?", Auger raised an eyebrow, parrying easily, "That's hardly fair."

  Lea ughed breathlessly, twirling her rapier and dodging his next blow, "This is how a Malediction Pathstrider fights! Any trick to gain the upper hand! If I can't outcss him, I'll outsmart him!!"

  Her strikes became erratic yet dangerous, infused with bursts of darkness that made her attacks unpredictable.

  Auger adjusted constantly, his longsword slicing through the air to meet the force of her enhanced thrusts. Small cracks formed in the ground beneath her, scorches of bckened energy marking where her Judgement strikes hit.

  "Power without control is meaningless.", Auger said, stepping inside her guard effortlessly, "And you're sloppy with yours."

  Lea's chest heaved, sweat running down her temple, but her grin never faltered, "Maybe... maybe I'm learning from Dantès, but he also used opportunity, not just skill. A little creativity is allowed, right?"

  Auger lunged, his longsword striking in a flurry that no trick could counter.

  Lea barely parried, her rapier vibrating violently from the impact. She tried to twist, redirect, strike again—

  But Auger was already moving, stepping inside her guard, forcing her back, finally disarming her with a flick that sent her rapier spinning through the air.

  Lea stumbled, catching herself just in time, chest heaving, eyes bzing— but she could only watch as Auger's sword tip rested lightly against her shoulder.

  "You fought well.", Auger said, sheathing his sword, a faint smirk on his face, "but remember... a true swordsman doesn't rely on tricks to win."

  Lea rolled her eyes, letting out a breathy ugh, "Yeah, yeah... but admit it, I at least made it interesting."

  Auger chuckled, "Interesting, yes. Effective? Not so much. But you're improving."

  Lea muttered under her breath, brushing herself off, "Next time, I'll actually win... somehow."

  Even in defeat, her grin remained, stubborn and defiant, a fire that promised the next lesson would be even more chaotic.